More than a Mistress

"Oh," Alex said, "Travis, this is wonderful!"

He looked at her, at her smiling face and her sugar-studded lips.

"Wonderful," he said, in soft agreement, and he bent to her and touched his mouth to hers, drinking in the sweetness of the sugar and the sweetness that was uniquely Alex. "Wonderful," he whispered, and he drew her into the shadows and into his embrace.

Her arms went up and encircled his neck.

"Travis," she said, her voice trembling.

"Yes, Princess," he murmured, "yes, I know."

He didn't know. He couldn't. She didn't know, herself, couldn't imagine why her heart was racing. Why she suddenly wished they were alone, under the star-filled sky. So he could make love to her, yes, but for more than that. Oh, for so much more...

Travis cupped her face in his hands. He kissed her, gently at first, then with growing passion.

The cotton candy cone drooped from her fingers.

"Princess," he whispered. "Come home with me."

"Yes." Her eyes were bright as they met his. "Oh, yes."

He drove quickly through the night, yearning to touch her but wanting, needing, the sweet pain of anticipation.

He wanted her now, so badly that the thought of it nearly made him dizzy, the need for her curling through his blood like an aphrodisiac. And he could tell, by the way she'd trembled when he'd kissed her, that she wanted him the same way.

But he knew, too, that the first frenzy of their lovemaking wouldn't be enough. He'd want her again, slowly once he'd regained his sanity, taking all the time he needed to lose himself in her kisses, to stroke the satin skin between her thighs, taste the honeyed sweetness of her breasts.

No, he thought, as he urged the Porsche along the dark Coast Highway, no, he didn't dare touch her now.

He turned into his driveway. The electronic gate opened at the touch of a button, then closed silently behind them. The gravel road had never seemed as long, nor the trees alongside so high.

The garage loomed ahead but he didn't bother with it. He stopped the car, opened the door, stepped out into the sea-scented night and then she was in his arms.

"Travis," she whispered, and the yearning in her voice, the softness of her sigh, almost undid him. All his romantic plans, the sweet seduction he'd intended, were swept away by need.

He kissed her, holding her head between his palms, threading his hands into her hair, angling his mouth over hers again and again while she clung to him, her fingers knotting into his shirt, her mouth open and wild beneath his.

He scooped her into his arms, carried her up the wooden steps that led to the deck, his mouth never leaving hers. He could hear the sea pounding against the sand, like the heavy pulse of his own blood.

He let her down slowly, her body soft against the hardness of his, and fumbled in his pocket for the keys.

"Wait," he said thickly, and made one last attempt to hold on to his sanity.

But Alex couldn't wait. Her body tingled with the tension that had built between them in the car, all through the endless, silent drive; she had never wanted anything, needed anything, as she needed to feel Travis's arms around her.

She murmured his name, slipped between him and the door, her arms tight around his neck, her mouth open and enticing on his.

"Now," she said, "Travis, please, now."

She touched him, her hand sliding down over his erection, cupping him. She heard the metallic tinkle of the keys as they fell to the deck, heard his groan and then his hands were hard on her shoulders as he backed her against the door. He lifted her skirt and she felt her panties rip, felt his hand as he undid his zipper, and then he was inside her, deep inside her, and the stars began to spin in the heavens.

"Alex," he whispered, as he cupped her bottom and lifted her to him. "Alex."

"Travis." Her voice trembled. She wanted to say more, to tell him what she felt...

But he moved, moved again. A high, keening cry burst from her throat, and she was lost.

She awakened, alone in Travis's wide bed, as dawn touched the room with wisps of pink and gold. Above, the blades of a ceiling fan turned lazily.

Alex sighed, snuggled deeper under the blanket. Her muscles ached a little, her mouth was swollen. The delicate scent of their lovemaking clung to her skin.

It had been a long night, a night filled with abandon. And she felt wonderful.

She sighed again, stretched her arms, rolled onto her belly and rubbed her cheek against the coolness of the pillowcase.

A smile curled across her lips. The case, the sheets, were silk. The bed was enormous. All in all, the room had been a perfect setting for the hours she'd spent in Travis's arms...

Her smile faded.

It was the perfect setting. The room had been designed for this, for the seductions of a bachelor.